On March 17, it was revealed that several private companies engaged in massage-related businesses have been organizing and promoting cadaver dissection tours in Hawaii and other locations in the United States.
These tours cater to sports trainers, yoga instructors, and massage therapists, professions that are generally not permitted to perform human dissections in Japan.
The companies argue that in Hawaii, dissection training for trainers and massage therapists is legal and does not violate any laws.
However, the Japan Society of Anatomy has expressed strong concerns, stating that the proliferation of paid overseas dissection tours could undermine public trust in Japan’s body donation system, which relies on voluntary contributions for medical education.
The society has since established new ethical guidelines in response.
A Tokyo-based massage business has been actively promoting these tours on its website and at seminars.
The company’s president admitted that they have been conducting such programs since around 2020, defending the practice as a measure to prevent injuries caused by inexperienced instructors.
In Japan, medical and dental students typically conduct cadaver dissections as part of their education, with the majority of bodies provided through voluntary donation.
The ethical implications of commercializing dissection training remain a heated topic of debate.